


Healing

by Eiliem



Series: Family Reunion [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Brotherhood, D Brothers, Family, Fluff, Gen, POV Third Person, Strawhats, Whitebeard Pirates - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-24
Updated: 2009-11-24
Packaged: 2017-10-03 16:22:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eiliem/pseuds/Eiliem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ace waits for Luffy to wake up and gets acquainted with his brother's nakama - and all their madness.</p><p>Part 2 of the Family Reunion series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Healing

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Исцеление](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11979354) by [AnnetteDelacroix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnetteDelacroix/pseuds/AnnetteDelacroix)



Ace woke before Luffy did. It was nerve-wracking, worrying that something was seriously wrong with his brother as the hours trickled into days with no sign of Luffy waking. It did, however, give him the opportunity to become well acquainted with Luffy's crew.

Zoro, whose wanted posters failed to convey his sharp-eyed watchfulness over his crewmates and the gruff care he exhibited towards them.

Nami, the sweet-looking red-head who could probably drink anyone in Whitebeard's crew except their captain under the table but who refused all invitations to drink and party in favour of staying by her captain's side.

Usopp, fatter now than at their last meeting, was the long-nose who'd recognized Whitebeard's name when Ace had invited Luffy to join him. He was a teller of tall tales, practicing on Ace and the other Strawhats the stories he would tell Luffy when the latter woke up, and – for reasons no one would explain – was listed as "Sogeking" on his wanted poster.

Sanji, the blond chain-smoker, who had gone straight to the kitchens and apologized in advance for the amount of food Luffy was going to eat when he came to. Marjane, the head-chef, had laughed at him before kicking him out of her galley. Ace had been asleep for that first time, but he'd since seen plenty of Marjane vs Sanji in the Strawhat cook's campaign to convince her that, yes, Luffy did in fact eat more than Ace.

Tiny Chopper alternated between fussing over Luffy and plastering himself to Zoro's side, listening sparkle-eyed to Usopp's "adventures" with a giant beetle.

Quiet Nico Robin who, when asked how she'd wound up on Luffy's crew, had laughed and said:

"He saved my life when I'd lost my purpose so I told him he had to take responsibility for the rest of me."

Very loud, overly expressive Franky who, Ace learned, had built the ship waiting for them in Shabondy – the first one having met its end after an assault on Enies Lobby. (The judicial island? Seriously?!)

And Dead Bones Brook who…was dead. But not. A walking, talking, breathing (and belching and farting) skeleton. His music had been the first thing Ace was aware of, when he'd finally woken:

"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!  
Following the sea-"

and it had been enough to convince Ace that Impel Down was well and truly behind him.

Whatever differences existed between the eight crewmates, however, they all shared the same complete irreverence towards their captain. Which made sense – they were sailing under _Luffy_. But still, it wasn't an attitude that he'd ever come across before on any ship.

Two nights after Ace woke up, feeling so much more like himself than he had since before his fight with Teach, the Whitebeard pirates threw a party on the deck of the Moby Dick. Jozu came down to the infirmary where the Strawhats were gathered around the still-sleeping Luffy and invited them to join. They all grinned and glanced significantly at each other (well, seven of them glanced significantly at each other and one "yohoho'ed").

"The nurses and doctors on board are very good, you don't need to worry about leaving your friend" – Ace refrained from reminding Jozu that if the situation were reversed, the third division commander would not leave his captain's side come Hell or high water – "in their care for a few hours."

Sanji waved the reassurance away, "Oh, we're no worried, it's just that he's going to be really upset when he wakes up and finds out that he missed a party."

Jozu looked like he didn't quite know what to say to that. Neither did Ace.

"Serves him right for doing reckless things without us." Zoro said, and the Strawhats all laughed, before breaking into an argument about who got to tell Luffy that he had snoozed through Ace's welcome back party.

In the end they each spent part of the party watching over Luffy until another Strawhat went down to spell them.

Ace would have liked to stay with his brother as well, but he couldn't blow off his crew, nor refuse to attend a celebration in his honour (and he _liked_ a good party, but the centre of attention – again – was the last place he wanted to be right now). For the most part, however, his crew was still inclined to treat him gently – more likely the result of Dr. Apgar coming up and threatening dismemberment, disembowelment, and death if anyone so much as jostled Ace too hard, rather than any sensitivity on their part. While Ace found it annoying (he was not made of glass dammit) it allowed him to spend most of the evening (night, and early morning) trailing after various Strawhats and getting updates on Luffy's condition each time they changed shifts. Never mind that these all consisted of "still snoring". As an added bonus, the Strawhats at a party - boozing, dancing, eating, laughing, sing, talking VERY LOUDLY, and generally whirling through the merrymaking with the kind of energy Ace usually associated with his little brother - were distracting enough that Ace didn't feel like he had a spotlight trained on him.

The party slowed to a halt in the early hours of the morning – everyone still being tired from the fight – and Ace found himself back in the infirmary with the Strawhats, now in various states of (un)consciousness. He had almost drifted off himself when Nami, keeping watch over Luffy, laughed softly.

"I just wish I could have seen the faces of the people watching the broadcast when Luffy-"

"Started doing his Luffy-thing?" So Usopp was still awake.

"Probably like our faces the first time we saw Luffy pull crazy shit." Sanji suggested wryly, and laughed.

Then Franky stirred and, casting an amused glance at Luffy, added "Like when he ordered the World Government flag burned at Enies Lobby." – he _what!?_ – "Man, I thought Spanda was going to wet himself."

"Do you think he saw the broadcast?" asked Robin from where she lay curled up on the bed to Luffy's right.

"Ha! He really would have wet himself."

Nami sighed. "I just hope we don't run into any World Nobles when we get back to Shabondy."

Chopper, blinking himself awake on the bed to Luffy's left, gave a frightened squeek and Usopp grimaced.

"What are the odds Luffy won't punch one out this time?"

"None!"

"No chance."

"You have to admit they had it coming."

"Indeed. Yohoho~"

"Shitty bastards."

Now they were all wide awake and grinning at each other like maniacs. Brook chuckled.

"It will be an adventure wherever he leads us – perhaps next time we should all punch them out." His suggestion was met with mingles cheers, laughter, and groans.

Complete irreverence mixed with absolute faith. They were all insane.

Eventually the Strawhats – reassured that there was nothing wrong with Luffy that he couldn't sleep off (after several days), or curious about their hosts, or simply _bored_ – stopped spending all their time cooped up in the infirmary and peeled off individually to explore the ship and its inhabitants.

Sanji continued his quest to persuade Marjane of the impossible nature of his captain's gluttony.

Zoro, from the sounds of it, combed the ship for ever-larger things to weight-lift with.

Usopp would disappear and come back raving about the set-up of their cannons, before nonchalantly bragging about the "gaon" cannon on the Sunny-Go, which was so powerful it could knock their entire ship backwards if their shipwright hadn't designed a stabilizing force. Franky – who usually accompanied Usopp out of professional curiosity – had to confirm this himself before Ace believed the tale-teller.

Nami ran off to gamble. Her irate victims sometimes followed her back to the infirmary where they complained bitterly to Ace, until Marco stepped in and told the idiots to stop gambling with her if it cost them so much.

Robin had laid her hands on some books, including maps, which she showed Nami when the latter wasn't off scamming people.

Brook…sat in the middle of the deck and watched the bustle, chuckling to himself. Or played the piano Jozu hauled over for him, which had belonged to one of the men in the third division, before the latter decided to get married and become a zucchini farmer somewhere in West Blue.

They all came by the infirmary often, to check up on Luffy, and chat with Ace. Sanji always brought food, which the others partook in, if they arrived before Ace ate it all. Chopper, of course, spent the most time with them, monitoring Luffy's condition or discussing methods of treatment with the Whitebeard medical staff. But even he sometimes wandered off to explore – and once, to the Whitebeard pirate's amusement, to conduct a full check-up on Whitebeard himself.

So it was, one afternoon six days after the Mody Dick set sail from Marinford, that Ace found himself alone in the infirmary, watching Luffy tangle himself further and further into the sheets. Just he considered perhaps untangling his brother before he strangled himself in his sleep, Luffy catapulted into a sitting position, eyes wide open, and hands scrambling at his head for a hat that had been sitting on the bed-side table since Zoro placed it there six days ago.

"Aaah, I'm hungry! Where's my hat? Ah, Ace, can I have some food? Where's my hat?"

Ace pointed to the table and handed Luffy plate of bacon, ribs, and assorted meaty-things Marjane had sent down via Sanji as Ace's dinner. The food lasted ten seconds – likely as Luffy was distracted with putting his hat on before he could redirect his attention to the snack properly.

"Thank you! You look better. Where are my nakama?"

Ace watched Luffy pull pieces of bone out of his throat and weighed the satisfaction of punching his brother into tomorrow against his need to wrap Luffy into a hug and not let go until dangerous places like Impel Down and Marinford were abandoned, demolished, and posed no further threat to him.

_Punch his lights out, hug him, punch his lights out, hug him, punch his lights out-_

"Luffy!" Sibling violence and affection both were put on hold as Chopper zoomed into the room and began poking and prodding Luffy all over, checking up on his health.

"Shishishi! Hi Chopper! How are you? Where is everybody?"

"Oh, oh! They-" Chopper looked around as if he expected his crewmates to materialize in the infirmary, now that their captain was awake.

"They're probably up on deck. Do you want me to go get them?" Ace was reluctant to move, to leave Luffy, but he fully understood needing to be with one's nakama.

"Nah, I'll see them soon enough." Luffy grinned as he settled himself against the headboard. He kicked at his blankets slightly and failed spectacularly to untangle them from his legs. Ace snorted and lent him a hand.

Finally Chopper, having conducted his check up, couldn't contain his excitement anymore and dashed out to tell his crewmates that Luffy was awake.

"Tell Sanji to bring food!" Luffy yelled after him.

Idiot.

Luffy grinned his stupid, fearless, happy-to-be-in-the-world smile and took Ace's hand. He squeezed back, feeling the rubber stretch and compress under his fingers. Warm and vibrant and _alive_.


End file.
